Fidelity, Strong, Vanguard, Lincoln Financial, Franklin Templeton, and AIM earned DALBAR’s highest honor, an “Excellent” Web site designation, for providing their customers with the best online service and support in the Mutual Fund industry. DALBAR evaluated more than 200 Web sites quarterly to find those sites that excel in meeting the online needs of their customers.
Fidelity continues to shine with 15 consecutive quarters of “Excellent” designation, while Strong and Lincoln Financial each have two consecutive quarters of excellence.
A number of consumer sites made great strides in fourth quarter, 2004. Putnam’s consumer site jumped four slots to the 12th spot after allowing customers to display their accounts on the homepage. MFS climbed five spots to 14th by making their online forms interactive among other enhancements.
Within financial professional sites, OppenheimerFunds advanced from 13th to 6th in the rankings with the addition of pre-filled service forms, new planning tools and marketing materials. Enterprise added new marketing materials and streamlined access to important information, earning them an impressive 14th place. Alliance Bernstein advanced 14 ranks with a new site design that improved navigation on their financial professional Web site.